Past Simple and Used To – What’s the Difference?

Learning English grammar can be challenging, especially when it comes to understanding the differences between similar structures. Two such structures that often confuse English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students are the past simple tense and “used to.” This article will explain the structure and uses of both, highlight their differences, and provide example sentences to clarify their use.

Past Simple

Structure

The past simple tense is used to describe actions that happened at a specific point in the past. The structure for regular verbs is straightforward:

Affirmative: Subject + verb (past simple form)
Negative: Subject + did not (didn’t) + base form of the verb
Question: Did + subject + base form of the verb

Examples:

• Affirmative: I walked to school yesterday.
• Negative: She didn’t like the movie.
• Question: Did they finish their homework?

For irregular verbs, the past simple form varies and must be memorized. For example:

• Go → went
• Have → had
• See → saw

Uses

1. Completed Actions in the Past: To talk about actions that started and finished at a specific time in the past.
   • I visited Paris last year.
2. Series of Completed Actions: To describe a sequence of actions in the past.
   • He woke up, brushed his teeth, and went for a run.
3. Duration in the Past: To express how long something happened.
   • She lived in Japan for five years.

Used To

Structure

“Used to” is used to describe past habits or states that are no longer true. The structure is:

Affirmative: Subject + used to + base form of the verb
Negative: Subject + did not (didn’t) use to + base form of the verb
Question: Did + subject + use to + base form of the verb

Examples:

• Affirmative: I used to play the piano.
• Negative: He didn’t use to like vegetables.
• Question: Did you use to have long hair?

Uses

1. Past Habits: To talk about actions that were habitual in the past but no longer happen.
   • She used to go jogging every morning.
2. Past States: To describe situations or conditions that were true in the past but are no longer the case.
   • There used to be a cinema here.

Differences Between Past Simple and Used To

While both the past simple and “used to” talk about the past, they are used in different contexts.

1. Specific Past Actions vs. Past Habits/States:
   • Use the past simple for specific actions that happened once or a few times.
     • Example: I watched that movie last week.
   • Use “used to” for repeated past actions or states that no longer occur.
     • Example: I used to watch that movie every Friday.
2. Focus on the Event vs. Habit/State:
   • The past simple focuses on when something happened.
     • Example: She visited London in 2019.
   • “Used to” focuses on the regularity or continuity of the past action or state.
     • Example: She used to visit London every summer.
3. Forming Negatives and Questions:
   • Past simple uses “did not” or “didn’t” and the base form of the verb for negatives and questions.
     • Negative: They didn’t finish the project.
     • Question: Did you see the news?
   • “Used to” becomes “did not use to” or “didn’t use to” for negatives and “Did … use to” for questions.
     • Negative: He didn’t use to eat meat.
     • Question: Did she use to live here?

Examples in Context

To further illustrate the differences, here are some examples in context:

• Past Simple:
  • I went to the concert last night. (Specific past action)
  • She wrote three letters this morning. (Series of completed actions)
  • They lived in Spain for two years. (Duration in the past)
• Used To:
  • I used to play basketball every weekend. (Past habit)
  • He used to be very shy. (Past state)
  • We used to have a cat, but it ran away. (Past state)

Past Simple and Used To – What’s the Difference?

The past simple is used for specific actions and events that happened at a particular time, while “used to” describes past habits and states that no longer exist.